LensPick raises funds to expand online presence

US-based Scadea Solutions has picked a 10% in the firm, at a valuation of $5 million

The two year old eye wear e-commerce portal LensPick.com has raised second round of funding for inventory enhancement and technology upgradation as part of its plans to increase its online presence.

US-based Scadea Solutions Inc., has picked a 10 percent stake in LensPick.com at a valuation of $5 million, according to Venkart ECom Private Limited managing director Dileep C Byra, who is the promoter. The first round of funding was made by a Hyderabad-based HNI for a similar stake.

"The Rs 43,000 crore Indian eyewear industry offers a great opportunity for the specialised eye wear eCommerce portals. At LensPick.com we are aiming to reach 1,000 plus transactions per day in the next 2-3 years by enhancing the customer experience through a set of innovative initiatives," Byra told Business Standard.

LensPick provides eye testing facility at the doorsteps of customers in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, sends multiple pairs of frames to provide a choice at the time of delivery to the customers across India, extends buy-back offer for old spectacles, gives second frame as a complementary among other things.

While the LensKart, which is the market leader in the exclusive on-line eye-wear marketplace in India, had rolled out the off-line stores after its entry into e-commerce business, LensPick started its journey as an off-line eye wear seller in 2011. The latter has 20 off-line stores in Hyderabad and Bengaluru and has plans to increase the number to 100 in the next 2-3 years covering other tier 1 and tier 2 cities mostly in South India.

The company is also planning to set up a chain of clinics for treating other eye-related problems and the first such clinic will be opened soon in the city, according to Dileep Byra.

Currently the off-line business contributes Rs 6 crore while the on-line retail business has been registering sales in the range of Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore per annum, according to the LensPick promoter.

LensPick is also in talks with US-based Eyenetra, which has come up with a smart-phone based eye testing gadget, to make eye-testing service at customers' door steps much more convenient and time saving by using machines developed by the team of MIT graduates.